A south Belfast family has been struggling to deal with a plague of rats that has infested their home.
Eighteen rats have been caught and killed recently at their terraced home on Edinburgh Street, off Lisburn Road.
The family, which includes three young children, has said more rats are in and around the property and they need help to deal with problem.
Picture By: Arthur Allison. Pacemaker Press Belfast 13-04-2016.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 13-04-2016: A south Belfast family has been struggling to deal with a plague of rats that has infested their home.
Eighteen rats have been caught and killed recently at their terraced home on Edinburgh Street, off Lisburn Road.
The family, which includes three young children, has said more rats are in and around the property and they need help to deal with problem.
Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 13-04-2016: A south Belfast family has been struggling to deal with a plague of rats that has infested their home.
Eighteen rats have been caught and killed recently at their terraced home on Edinburgh Street, off Lisburn Road.
The family, which includes three young children, has said more rats are in and around the property and they need help to deal with problem.
Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 13-04-2016: A south Belfast family has been struggling to deal with a plague of rats that has infested their home.
Eighteen rats have been caught and killed recently at their terraced home on Edinburgh Street, off Lisburn Road.
The family, which includes three young children, has said more rats are in and around the property and they need help to deal with problem.
Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 13-04-2016: A south Belfast family has been struggling to deal with a plague of rats that has infested their home.
Eighteen rats have been caught and killed recently at their terraced home on Edinburgh Street, off Lisburn Road.
The family, which includes three young children, has said more rats are in and around the property and they need help to deal with problem.
Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 13-04-2016: A south Belfast family has been struggling to deal with a plague of rats that has infested their home.
Eighteen rats have been caught and killed recently at their terraced home on Edinburgh Street, off Lisburn Road.
The family, which includes three young children, has said more rats are in and around the property and they need help to deal with problem.
Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 13-04-2016: A south Belfast family has been struggling to deal with a plague of rats that has infested their home.
Eighteen rats have been caught and killed recently at their terraced home on Edinburgh Street, off Lisburn Road.
The family, which includes three young children, has said more rats are in and around the property and they need help to deal with problem.
Picture By: Arthur Allison.

These are the dramatic pictures that illustrate the rat problem that has plagued a south Belfast family's home.

A total of eighteen rats have been caught and killed recently at their terraced home on Edinburgh Street off the Lisburn Road,

But despite efforts to deter the rats with traps and poison they keep coming back to the family house which is home to three young children.

The landlord told the BBC that the tenants keep the house "very well" but that the rats were causing major problems and that it was a "matter of time" before the lights go out.

He said: "They're eating the concrete floor in the kitchen, they're eating through the cavity walls, they disconnected the electricity in the shower.

"It's just a matter of time until the lights go out, we would think."

The landlord criticised Belfast City Council for being slow in responding calls for help.

He said: "The best reply that we can get is that these people will come out in about 10 to 14 days."

Belfast City Council said in a statement that they had received a report about the problem but that there is a "huge demand" on their pest control service.

A council spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that this case was reported to the Council yesterday (Tuesday 12 April). We are committed to responding as soon as possible but as there is a huge demand on our free pest control service, the caller was advised that it can take up to ten to 14 days.

"An appointment was scheduled at the beginning of next week – well within the advised timeline - and advice offered on action that could be taken in the interim.

"It should be pointed out that the Council has no statutory responsibility for dealing with rats; however, in the 12 months to the end of March 2016, we dealt with more than 2,700 requests for service and baited more than 12,200 manholes."